13 weeks: Baby Peach

Welcome to week 13! Our baby is the size of a peach! Incredible! What's more I have been eating peaches and nectarines this week....so baby is a bit of a cannibal. LOL. The consensus amongst my readings is that Baby Peach is around 3 inches long and weighs between 1/2 and 3/4 ounces. The growth of Baby's giant melon has slowed down. He or she could be booked by the police as fingerprints are formed on those tiny fingers by this point. I can definitely feel my uterus above my pelvic bone if I palpate my lower abdomen. I am glad my OB taught me how to find it via hand over hand palpation at out first visit. He made me feel very relaxed (ok except the ridiculous pilgrim collar/poncho paper breast exam get-up) and basically said their office takes a very hands-off, minimum exam approach w/ only 1 u/s at around 20 for diagnostics and no undressing at the office again until 30 something weeks!

I am going to start discussing birthing options at next weeks appt. I know I am only 13 weeks but I need to know what I can and can not do during labor at the hospital. I have concerns about whether I will be allowed to walk around the birthing room and avoid internal fetal monitoring and IV's unless absolutely necessary. I have real issues w/ the idea of an epidural and labor induction. Mostly because of complications that may be caused by those 2 things as well as my inherent fear of feeling "trapped". LMAO. Jen W if your are reading this...."You're trapping me....you're trapping me!!". I feel sorry for anyone who has had to sleep in the bed w/ me when the sheets are left tucked in! Or perhaps witnessed me attempting to scuba dive or go spelunking (can you say 6 hours of crawling through a cave and discovering I am perhaps claustrophobic half-way through a 30 foot long, 3.5' x 3' tunnel). Let's just say I'm a bit of a control freak. And I don't think I can completely turn over my body to someone else, or a group of someones, while I am unable to feel or move my lower half. Perhaps I'll change my mind when the time comes.

I am not saying that I am completely unopen to any type of intervention. And I'm not ruling out a "walking epidural" (low dose...dulls the pain...still allows for movement of legs, pushing muscles, and, well, walking....ok maybe shuffling!). I definitely need to do more research on that one. I do have a little time to sure up that whole 'plan'. And I still want to deliver in a hospital, w/ all the 'back ups'. I work in a hospital. I have read a lot of articles portraying them as 'the devil' but I honestly believe it's all in your perception. Make a birth plan. Be up front w/ your doc and whoever is going to be in the birthing room w/ you about your wishes. Obviously, if disaster strikes....I'll be right where I need to be. And if not then the nurses can all roll their eyes about the pseudo-granola girl in room 3 who won't let them stick an internal monitor in her, who is pacing around the darkened room listening to soft music, and moaning as she leans over every available surface during contractions swaying her hips around like a crazy person. I admit that the professionals @ the hospital's birthing center have delivered a lot more babies than I have and they may have a little better insight than I do on the subject. But I also believe that women were built for this gig and may not need as much help as is readily given during most labors and births. I've been present for several "normal" hospital births...some that have gone smooth as silk and some that didn't. I guess I am a moderate to the core. I'm not quite ready for a non-hospital birth but I don't want to be completely out of it and miss the details of one of the most important days of my life. All that said, I am still pretty terrified of the whole thing! Anywho.....more on that later.

For now, I am still wearing normal clothes but I definitely have a little pooch. I am still unreasonably tired a times but now I attribute this to inactivity. 90+ degree weather does not help that cause. I am going to go for early morning walks w/ the dog to avoid that or give into the weather and do evening laps in the neighborhood pool. Plus instead of rolling around on my living room floor doing yoga poses, I am going to call my old yoga instructor and find out when she has a class appropriate for a pg gal like myself. Update Saturday morning: couldn't sleep. Got up at 6 am. Took Henry on a 2 mile walk around the lake. It was very relaxing. And quiet! Then Henry and I went out on the deck for a little outdoor yoga session which was lovely until the neighborhood starting waking up and cars started driving around. I suddenly felt a little self-conscious w/ my booty in the air for downward dog so I switched to my traditional ending pose. Although I decided that, to the neighbors, the corpse pose was probably equally disturbing......you know..."Should we check to see if that lady is ok?". LOL. Anyhow, Brad is working on landscaping and I am heading to Louisville to celebrate birthdays w/ my mom (hers was Thursday the 12th, mine Monday the 9th). Hope everyone has a good weekend!